Fighting for Freedom
by Wandering Black Wolf
Summary: AU. It's been 9 long years since she last saw her brothers. Even though she's been branded as a tool, she's still fighting for her dreams of freedom. She won't let anyone stop her from her dreams and promises.


**Fighting for Freedom** by Wandering Black Wolf

**Rating:** M for cursing

**Summary:** AU. It's been 9 long years since she last saw her brothers. Even though she's been branded as a tool, she's still fighting for her dreams of freedom. She won't let anyone stop her from her dreams and promises.

**Pairings:** Undecided

**Warnings: **AU, FemLuffy, AliveSabo, some ooc-ness

**Disclaimer:** One Piece and its characters do not belong to me.

So I only recently _really_ got into One Piece. I've watched a couple of episodes before when they aired it on 4Kids but I've only recently started watching the english subbed episodes. I'll have to start reading the manga sometime soon, so for now, I get most of my info from the anime.

After watching and then browsing around OP fanfiction, an idea hit me and has not since left me alone. I'm going to say this now, I'm not a writer. If you see any odd grammatical errors, please point it out to me. I'll do my best to fix them in the future.

Here's the first chapter. Hope you all enjoy.

xxxxx

Chapter 1 Arrivals at Water 7

She was going to meet up with the others so that they could complete their mission. It wouldn't be that much longer now. She gazed out a window of Puffing Tom as the sea train traveled toward Water 7.

She disembarked at the station before starting toward the rendezvous point. Silently, she made her way unseen by any of the civilians milling about on the streets in the evening light.

Coming up to Blueno's Bar, she slipped inside and made her way into the backroom. None of the patrons took any notice of her.

Plopping down in a seat in the back room with a sigh, she proceeded to amuse herself by delving into a book she had brought with her. The meeting wouldn't start until after the bar closed.

As the sun set and closing time came around, Blueno finished closing the bar before heading into the back himself. He was met with the sight of a slender young girl in her late teens seated at the table in the middle of the room. She was currently dressed as a civilian with an open red vest over a short black halter top, blue denim capris, and a comfortable pair of sandals upon her feet. She had long smooth obsidian hair the dipped just below her shoulder blades and a small scar below her left eye was the only thing marring her youthful face.

With a glance to the girl in greeting, he stood and leaned against the wall to wait for the others. The other members slowly trickled into the meeting spot so as not to arouse any suspicion.

A tall man with orange hair hidden under a baseball cap walked over to stand near the seated girl. He oddly enough had a long square nose. He gave the black-haired girl a small smile and watched as the corners of her mouth slightly quirked up in return.

A tall and slim, yet muscular man with arched eyebrows and a close-shaved goatee gave a quick glance around the room. He had a top hat atop his shoulder-length wavy hair with a tie-wearing pigeon on his shoulder. He nodded to the blonde woman.

The slim blonde with a gracious body pulled out a den den mushi and set it on the table. She adjusted her glasses perched on her nose before taking a step back as the den den mushi began to ring.

"Puru puru—katcha!"

"We're all here."

xxxxx

The next day, people were bustling around in good cheer and enjoying the festival. Things became rowdier when a crew of pirates started to cause trouble at the docks. The matter was soon settled when the shipwrights retaliated. The onlookers and other people around laughed and cheered.

Around noon, another pirate ship arrived. It made its way through the city and toward the rocky outcropping to dock as directed by the various residents of Water 7.

As the crew finished anchoring the ship, a figure vaulted over the rail and landed on the ground with a soft thud in a crouch before straightening up.

"Oi, Ace! Wait up!" Another shouted as they jumped off the ship and landed next the young man that had previously jumped off the ship.

"C'mon Sabo! The faster we get things done, the sooner we can start looking for her!" Ace said as he started off into the city. Sabo gave a small sigh as he ran to catch up with his brother.

This always happened when they got new leads. Ace would rush off to start looking and asking around. Not that Sabo was any better, but they had another reason for actually coming to this island. Sabo gave a quick glance back at their ship. Well, technically it was his ship now. It was the ship that he and Ace had gotten when they set off 4 years ago. The poor thing was run down and on its last leg after all these years of sailing. They needed a new ship; one that was larger for his growing crew and better equipped to handle the next part of the Grand Line.

The crew watched as the two brothers ran off, smiling at their antics. They already knew what to do having received their orders prior to docking.

Marco watched in exasperation as his fellow commander and his brother ran off in search of a shipwright. Ever since they Sabo had contacted Ace saying that he might have found a solid lead, it was a rush to meet up and head to the next place of sighting. Ace had dropped his chase for Teach and cruised off on his speedboat to get to the Top Hat crew while Marco himself flew off from the Moby Dick with orders from pops to keep the rest of the Whitebeard crew updated.

Marco turned to watch as another three members of the Top Hat pirates hopped off the ship. Nami, the navigator, ushered the two males along. Sanji, the crew's cook, happily carried a sack of treasure they planned on selling for money while their sharpshooter, Usopp, placed the second sack on a cart for easier transportation. The trio would be meeting up with Sabo and Ace later.

"Puru puru puru!" The den den mushi that Marco was carrying began to ring. He sat down on a barrel before taking the call. "Yo! Pops! Ah, sorry for not calling sooner…"

As Marco continued with his update for the rest of his crew, Robin and Chopper headed off for some supplies for the crew and to browse around the city. Zoro was to stay and protect the ship until the others returned from their various errands.

xxxxx

Some hours later, the Top Hat pirates had a ship commissioned. Nami, Sanji, and Usopp had met up with their captain and his brother with the money they earned from cashing the treasure. The group had the pleasure of meeting Iceburg, his secretary, and the Galley-La Company shipwrights. They even had the chance to see the shipyard. After much discussion and haggling of specifications and price of the ship, they managed to get everything worked out.

Anything that could be salvaged and repurposed would be used for the new ship. The Top Hat pirates were especially happy with this condition. The new ship would carry the spirit of the old; giving it a life it wouldn't have had otherwise.

"Nah, Iceburg-san. We were wondering if there was something else you could help us with." Iceburg gave Ace a questioning look. They had previously moved into the Galley-La Company building and into Iceburg's office to hash out details and finalize the commission.

"Ah! That's right! As the mayor, you could probably help us." Sabo agreed.

"We're looking for someone. She's been missing for several years now. She would be 17 now." Pulling out a copy of the only photo they had of their little sister they had taken when she just turned 8, Sabo unfolded it and handed it to Iceburg.

The little girl in the photo smiled brightly at the camera. Her dark brown eyes sparkled with mirth and mischievousness. Her short raven colored hair was covered by a large straw hat that was slipping off her head to one side. But the one thing that really stuck out to Iceburg was the distinctive scar that she had under her left eye.

"Yes, I've seen this girl, although she seems more reserved now than when this photo was taken. She sometimes comes to visit Water 7 during the festivals. She doesn't actually have residence here." Iceburg returned the photo to an excited Sabo. Ace also seemed to vibrating in his seat with happiness; his grin was almost splitting his face. They were so close! It was possible that she could even be in the city right now!

"Thanks so much for the help, Iceburg-san!" Sabo and Ace gave a quick bow in thanks to the skilled shipwright before turning to the rest of the crew with them. "Make sure you restock any items you need and then go ahead and enjoy the city," Sabo told his crew with a smile. Nami, Sanji, and Usopp returned their captain's smile with their own. They were very happy for him; they knew that he'd been searching for his sister for some time.

The Top Hat pirates plus Ace left the Galley-La Company headquarters with one last word of thanks to the president. Ace and Sabo headed off to ask around while the other three left to see more sights of the city.

After spending the rest of the afternoon asking around the city, Sabo and Ace returned to where the Top Hat ship was moored. Their search unfortunately came up empty handed. Many of the people they asked had told them same thing that Iceburg had told them. The girl would sometimes show up in town for the festivals, but it wasn't always a guarantee. So with heavy hearts they walked toward the ship only to come across a bunch of oddly dressed people lying around on the ground unconscious in front of the ship.

"Oi, oi! What happened here!?" Sabo called out as he looked around at all the bodies. "Yo, Captain!" Zoro called out lazily as he stretched up from his napping position on the deck. The swordsman stood with a jaw breaking yawn and made his way to the brothers. "These guys showed up and attacked out of the blue. There wasn't anything special about them though. Took care of them with one blow and they haven't woken up since," Zoro reported.

"Ah…you don't think these guys are the Franky Family that Iceburg-san warned us about, do you?" Sabo asked his brother.

"Probably," Ace responded with a sigh of annoyance. "Most likely, they were going to dismantle the ship and sell the timber."

"Ugh…" One of the men on the ground groaned as he started to come to. He looked around at his downed comrades before a large shadow fell over him and his breath hitched. Shakily, he looked up at the 3 looming figures standing above him; their eyes glittered with anger and the air around them seemed to intensify. Sweat slowly rolled down his face before the pirates were suddenly upon him.

"EEEEAAAAAAHHHHHH!" The terrified and pain filled scream echoed in the evening air.

"We're sorry…" The group of men mumbled as they knelt in front of the 3 pirates; all of them had lumps on their heads when Zoro and Ace went after them before Sabo finally managed to step in. The group was indeed the Franky family that Iceburg spoke of. After the situation was made known to the city bandits, Sabo agreed to do some business with them. They'd be paid to disassemble the ship and the Top Hat Pirates would still keep any salvageable parts; of course, they'd have to tell Iceburg about the small change in plans for the salvaging tomorrow.

The next morning, the city was in an uproar. Iceburg had been attacked in his own home.

xxxxx

**AN:** So, that's it for this chapter. Please read and review.


End file.
